Black Sheep
by kdip4014
Summary: Allison Cameron seems like a family's dream, but what if she's actually the black sheep in her family? FINALLY UPDATED!
1. Incoming!

Black Sheep

Summary: Allison Cameron seems like a family's dream, but what if she's actually the black sheep in her family? Starts out CamChase, but will eventually become HouseCam.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be (Did I ever put a disclaimer on my 'family' series?)

* * *

This particular Monday morning found Drs Cameron, Chase and Gilmore sitting around the conference room table at eight AM, as usual, waiting for one Dr. Gregory House. Dr Cameron was flipping through books, working on an article; Dr. Chase was working on a crossword puzzle, essentially just looking pretty while trying to look smart; and Dr. Gilmore had a stack of case files belonging to Diagnostics patients' past, trying to get a feel for the type of cases that her newest department usually takes on. So far she's failing miserably in attempting to find a common denominator that every case has in common, except that they all seem like easily diagnosable cases until Greg House gets hold of them.

They hear the door open up and look up, expecting their boss with a new case, only to find Dr. Cuddy enter with a strange woman carrying a clipboard and wearing a badge.

"Pull out your IDs, doctors, we're going to be having heightened security for the foreseeable future and this young woman needs to check your IDs." Cuddy announces, causing Chase to stand and pull out his wallet, while the two women retrieve theirs from their purses behind the desk.

"Dr. Robert Chase." The woman studies the foreign drivers license before studying his face, then checks him off. As Cameron and Gilmore approach with theirs, she does the same, though with a bit less intensity due to their US IDs. "And now I need Dr. Gregory House. Where is he?"

"He doesn't come in before 9AM," Chase answers, returning his ID to his wallet and putting his wallet away. Before any of them can resume their seats, they're stopped when the woman pulls out wrist bracelets similar to what you'd get when you leave a concert, and attaches them to each of their left wrists.

"You will have these bracelets on at all times when on the hospital grounds, every morning when you check in with the agents upon arrival, you will show the one from the previous day, and they will replace it. Try to keep it in site while working, if you don't, and you're stopped by an agent, show it immediately. If you can't produce it, you will be taken into custody until your identity can be proven." She turns to Cuddy. "Tell me when Dr. House arrives, I'm going to continue on." She turns and briskly walks out the door, heading up the hallway. Cuddy turns to the team.

"No questions, I'll explain later. Page me when House gets here." Cuddy leaves and quickly follows the agent up the hallway to the oncology office.

The younger doctors all resume their seats, though none of them can resume their activities.

"Did anyone recognize her accent?" Gilmore asks the others.

"Sounded Middle Eastern," Cameron responds, "If I had to put money on it, I'd say Israeli."

"Any idea what the badge was?" Chase this time.

"Looked like NCIS." Cameron resumes her research.

"Is that anything like CSI?" Gilmore questions.

"Only if you're dyslexic." Cameron shoots back.

"And you have such knowledge of government agencies because…" The woman keeps probing, causing Cameron to glance up and grin secretively.

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Cameron leaves the question hanging, the glint in her eyes making Gilmore slightly nervous. She swallows audibly and eventually shakes her head.

"Nope, I'm good." They all resume their prior activities, only to glance up when the door between House's office and the conference room swings open, revealing their boss standing in the doorway.

"Does anyone here know why Cuddy paged me at this un_godly_ hour of the day?"

"It's only 20 minutes earlier then when you usually show up, House." Cameron responds while Chase pulls out his pager, sending a page to Cuddy that he's arrived.

"Yes, but that's 20 minutes less sleep than what I usually get."

"So does that mean that you're going to be an ass for 20 minutes longer than you usually are in the mornings?" Gilmore asks, continuing before anyone can say anything, "Of course, I don't think I've ever seen you _not_ be an ass during the day, so I don't suppose that it would really be a problem."

Chase and Cameron share a quick grin before schooling their features and turning back to their boss and newest colleague. Before House can comment at his newest duckling's comment, Cuddy returns in the wake of the same woman as before.

"Dr. House, ID please."

"Well, since you said please…no." House turns to Cuddy. "What's the point of all this?"

"The point is, you have a new patient, and there's a certain level of security required for said patient. Show her your ID in the next 10 seconds and I'll let you out of clinic duty this week." Cuddy states, wanting to get this out of the way as quickly as possible so that they can diagnose the patient and she can get her hospital back.

House pulls out his wallet and holds his license out to the woman, who quickly studies it, and checks his name off. Before House can withdraw his hand, she adheres one of the same bracelets to his wrist and quickly gives him the same speech that she gave the others before heading out the door and up the hall. This time, Cuddy remains behind. Once the woman is out of site, she hands over the files she was carrying, handing a copy to each of them.

"Your newest patient is Adli David," Cuddy pronounces the last name like the 'i' is 'ee', but before she can continue, Cameron cuts in.

"As in Israeli Prime Minister, Adli David? That explains the security measures, he's up for reelection."

"I wasn't aware of your knowledge of Middle Eastern current events, Dr. Cameron." House states, "Move on to the interesting part." He throws the file down on the table, moving to the coffee pot, sniffing it before pouring himself a cup.

"He collapsed during a Peace Conference in DC. He was stabilized at a DC hospital, and a toxin screen was done, but came back clean."

"So what's he doing here in Princeton?" Chase questions, "We're a good ways off from DC, with a dozen exceptional hospitals in between."

"His lead security agent deemed the hospital unstable, so he had his doctors stabilize him and transport him here. He'll be here in five minutes."

"Again, why this hospital?"

"What was his lead agent's name?" Cameron cuts in before Cuddy can answer Chase's question. Her voice is so quiet that the question was almost missed, but at the same time her voice carried a calmness that scared those in the room that know her.

Cuddy quickly consults the check-in paperwork before responding, "Agent Michael Davenport, Secret Service. Why?"

"Just curious, he's the one we'll have to go through whenever we want to run any tests."

"Again," Gilmore speaks up, "How do you have such knowledge of government agencies?"

Cameron looks around the room, seeing four pairs of eyes staring back at her curiously. She sighs deeply, deciding to answer.

"My little sister is a Secret Service Agent. She's a Middle Eastern affairs expert, so I wanted to know if she was one of the agents on the team."

"Sorry," Cuddy responds, "There aren't any Camerons on the list of agents that will be here while Prime Minister David is. And there will be _a lot_ of agents. So far the list has four dozen names, and they're all a mix of Secret Service, FBI, and… NCIS? Does anyone know what that stands for?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Services," House and Cameron answer at the same time.

"Right, well, there's a team of nine from them that will be here, one of which was the young woman that checked your IDs. Anyways, try and get this case solved quickly, I'd like to get my hospital back." With this final statement, Cuddy turns and leaves.

"So, how about the truth this time?" House turns to Cameron, "Why did you _really_ want to know the lead agent's name?"

"For the very reason that I told you." Cameron gathers up her books and papers, stacking them on the corner of her desk, clearing the table for a differential.

"House," Wilson enters the conference room from the office, Cuddy is right behind him. Before anyone can respond, a shout comes from the door leading to the hallway.

"_INCOMING!!!_" Cameron and House immediately fall to the floor while the others stand by dumbly. Several loud cracks are heard in the confined space, followed by several exclamations of shock and pain. Seconds following the last gasp, a calm voice comes from the doorway.

"Recover." Cameron gets to her feet before turning and helping her boss to his feet. They glance around the office and see each of the others standing in the same spots, each holding a hand to their chests, where a bright red stain is on each of their shirts, or skin, in Cuddy's case. Once they each realize that the stain on their chests is _not_ blood, they look to the person in the doorway.

"See ya later, civvie." The brunette in the doorway replaces the clip in her pistol before returning it to it's holster. She flashes Cameron a grin before turning and heading down the hallway.

Cameron buries her face in her hand, shaking her head, lifting it when she hears someone collapse on the floor. Uncovering her face, she sees Chase lying on the floor in a fetal position.

"Chase? Are you okay?"

"Umm hmmm," Chase murmurs from his position on the floor, not very convincingly. Wilson comes over to provide assistance, carefully helping him uncurl, but keeps him on the floor. Wilson carefully probes the skin of his chest, making sure that he's okay. Before he can look anywhere else, Gilmore grabs his attention and nods in the direction of Chase's groin. There's an additional paint splatter just below his belt buckle. Gilmore stands up, barely containing her laughter, turning her back to the other doctors to try and regain her composure. After a few minutes, Wilson helps Chase to his feet, allowing the others to see the second paint splatter. House doesn't bother trying to hold in his laughter, and he doubles over in laughter at Chase's pain. Finally he straightens, catching his breath.

"I don't know who that was, or what you did to her, Chase, but I like her."

While House and Gilmore chuckle softly at Chase's pain, Wilson and Cameron help him to a seat. Cuddy still remains motionless in the doorway. Wilson goes to the fridge and retrieves a small bag of ice, which he hands to Chase. Cameron kneels down by his side with an apologetic grimace on her face. She waits for chase to look up and meet her gaze.

"Sorry." She states simply.

"Not your fault." Chase responds in a slightly higher voice than normal, causing a fresh round of chuckles from House and Gilmore, and even elicits a few from Cuddy, who finally speaks up.

"Tell me that one of you knows who that was." Cuddy attempts to wipe some of the paint off her chest.

"I do." Cameron stands, regret obvious on her face.

"Well," Cuddy waits, expectance on her face.

"That was…my younger sister, Amelia."


	2. Speaking of

Black Sheep

Summary: Allison Cameron seems like a family's dream, but what if she's actually the black sheep in her family? Starts out CamChase, but will eventually become HouseCam.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be (Did I ever put a disclaimer on my 'family' series?)

Okay, so the family will be introduced in bits and pieces, but here's a list of them all now, as well as their ages (based on what I think Cameron's is), and the agency they work for.

Parents:

- Michael Davenport: FBI

- Melissa Davenport: NCIS

Siblings:

- Michael Jr.: 41, Secret Service

- Emerson: 39, Secret Service

- Claire: 37, Secret Service

- Jordyn: 35, FBI

- Allison: 31

- Aiden: 31, FBI

- Amelia: 31, NCIS

And enventually Magen Davenport will make an appearance, she's 40, FBI and Michael Jr's wife.

I thought it would be fun to make the last three triplets...even if they aren't identical, I think it's more fun to write differing personalities with twins and triplets than it is with three siblings of different ages.

Nicknames are a family thing, don't ask for explanations, if I give one, I give one, if I don't, I don't...or I couldn't come up with a story.

On a more serious note... military events in this story will be 100 percent fabricated. those that serve go through enough without the added knowledge that there's someone out there writing fiction based on their lives, sorrows and hardships. So whenever you read about the dangers those in uniform face, take a moment to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

* * *

"I told you guys, I don't know why Amelia shot Chase in the groin!" Gilmore trails Cameron down the hall from the lab as they return to Diagnostics.

"There has to be some reason, Dr. Cameron." Gilmore speeds up until she's abreast of Cameron. "When was the last time that you spoke to her?"

"Three months ago, right after we started dating."

"Could it be that she doesn't approve of the two of you?"

"Or she could have just missed." Chase joins them, his voice now back to normal, though he does have a slight limp of pain still.

"Mia doesn't miss, Chase. She was on the Olympic shooting team when she was 16. She's got more gold medals than the US received at the 96 summer Olympics."

"Really?" Chase exclaims in awe.

"Really. What ever reason she's got, it doesn't have anything to do with you."

"How would the rest of your family respond?" Gilmore asks when they stop outside the elevator. The other two face her questioningly. "Well, this is your kid sister…how would your dad react?"

"Or your older brother?" Chase questions fearfully.

"You're not scared, are you?"

"Appearances only…your sister wouldn't scare me much, but knowing her success with a handgun-"

"She's better with an M16." Cameron supplies as they board the elevator. Thankfully they're alone.

"A what?" Chase looks confused.

"Rifle used by the Marines." Cameron flips through the results from the blood work, ignoring the look of fear that crosses Chase's face.

"As I was saying," Chase swallows audibly, "Knowing her success with firearms, she scares the crap out of me. And don't you have like six sisters?"

"Five, and an older brother."

"You're one of seven children?" Gilmore asks, incredulous.

"Yup, fifth of seven."

"What do the rest of them do?"

"Why does it matter to the two of you what the members of my family do? No offense, Chase, but we are nowhere near any point where I'd introduce you to them." She leaves them behind as the doors open and she strides out heading toward the department. "And I don't know you well enough to share my deepest and darkest secrets with, Gilmore. Guys, let's just figure out what's wrong with the Prime Minister so that we can get the hospital back for Cuddy and get back to normal, weird cases." She enters the conference room and takes her usual seat at the table. Fortunately for her, House enters seconds later.

"Okay, so we've got a big wig that presents with all the signs of toxin poisoning, but his tox screen came back clean. Normally I'd send all of you off to do this, but let's pretend that I'm the boss. Any suggestions?

"We could start with a shotgun and see what comes from that. Something is bound to show up to lead us in a new direction." Cameron looks up from her notes to give the suggestion.

"Alright, while Gilmore is doing that, Chase can get the history and you can tell me why your sister felt the need to shoot Chase in the groin."

"Would you rather I have her shoot _you_ in the groin? Not that it would really cause any damage. Chase, get the history, Gilmore can do the shotgun, I'll talk to the SS team assigned to the Prime Minister." Cameron collects her files and heads out the door. House doesn't say anything, but looks pointedly at the other two doctors until they take the hint and leave to do their work.

* * *

"Good morning, sir. I'm Dr. Gilmore, and this is Dr. Chase," the heads of the two men in the corner snap up at the introduction, though they remain silent. "I'm going to need a few vials of blood for testing, and Chase here is going to get your history." Gilmore moves his arm to find a vein after receiving a head nod as an okay to proceed from the men in the room.

Chase glances over the men, snapping his attention back as he notices the resemblance between the two, wondering what their relation is. They both stare back at him with borderline hostile glares, causing him to shudder slightly, turning his attention onto the Prime Minister.

"Good morning, sir. The questions that I have for you might seem a little odd, but I need you to answer them as truthfully as possible." The older man nods, though turns his attention to the men, posing a question in a language unknown to Chase. The younger of the two men seems to understand and he takes out his phone to send a text to someone. Minutes later, a woman that Chase recognizes as Cameron's sister enters the room.

"You paged?" She questions in a low tone.

"We need a translator here just in case." The younger man nods to the patient and the doctors beside him. Amelia nods a greeting to Gilmore buts grins slyly when she recognizes Chase.

"Special Agent Amelia Davenport," she introduces herself to the doctors before turning her attention to the two men. "Gentlemen, Dr. Cameron is outside, she needs to speak with the two of you."

The men quickly hide the smiles that come over their faces before heading out. At the door, the older of the two turns and faces her, "You'll be okay?"

"I was once hand-selected to protect the President of the United States, I think I'll be okay with the scrawny Brit here." She flashes the two men a grin before turning her attention to the three others. She converses briefly with the Prime Minister in Arabic before turning her attention to the doctors. "Prime Minister David's English is well enough to carry on a conversation, but I'll be here just in case." She looks over the two doctors before commenting condescendingly.

"It takes two doctors to get a history? What are you going to do: Good cop/bad cop?"

"I'd better get this blood to the lab. I'll be back later for the other samples." Gilmore hightails it out of the room, throwing an apologetic glance back to Chase, leaving him alone with Amelia.

Chase turns back to Amelia to find her standing with her arms crossed, waiting for him to begin questioning.

"Well?" She prompts.

* * *

Cameron turns when she hears the door open to one of the offices the Secret Service was assigned for the Prime Minister's visit and immediately breaks into a smile when she sees the two men enter. She hugs the older of the two warmly before moving on to the younger man, giving him an equally warm hug.

"Hey Skates." Cameron laughs softly at the familiar nickname before releasing her brother from the hug.

"Hey, Mikey, hey dad."

"Hey Peanut." Her dad and brother both take a seat across from Cameron when she sits down.

"Debrief time," Cameron immediately dives in to business, and the two men follow her lead. "I need to know _everything_ no matter how inconsequential it may seem. Everything from detail formations during travel, to what the Prime Minister had for breakfast; _any_ changes that were made, whether they were done five days ago, or five minutes before he moved. If there were any changes between what was laid out initially and what happened this morning, I want to know." She falls silent and waits for them to answer. Her brother goes first.

"Breakfast was juice, tea, fruit, eggs and potatoes-"

"What kind of tea?" Cameron interrupts.

"Something he brought from Israel."

"I need that tea, preferably the same bag that he used this morning, but the same stash if that's not possible."

"We already have agents bringing everything that was thrown out from DC here, they should be here in about-" he glances at his watch, "-two more hours."

"Okay, carry on."

"Got dressed after breakfast - his robes and suit were cleaned by White House staff last night. First stop was a VA hospital in Georgetown. There was a new wave of soldiers and Marines injured in a bombing in Israel recently admitted. We spent the morning there. Lunch was catered by the House staff. Two hours were spent driving around DC on a tour. That schedule was never set in stone - we had agents stationed around the city radioing in what streets were safe. Then we went to the Peace Conference… ten minutes in to his speech, he collapsed. He was cleared by Georgetown Memorial for any drugs and toxins, and we flew him here immediately when the doctor there recommended continued observation."

Cameron finishes scribbling down her notes, then takes a minute to review them before speaking again. "I need to know what kind of detergent was used by House laundry, what was in lunch, and background files on every staff member from laundry, kitchen and security."

"Um, detergent and contents of food is understandable, but why background files?"

"I know how my boss operates, he's going to be throwing around conspiracy accusations, and if we can prove that no staff had any reason to kill him, that's one less thing to worry about. Trust me on this, guys."

"Always, but we've already started on interviews." Her father replies.

"Then I'll need the transcripts of those interviews, and notify them all that we might need to talk to them ourselves."

"Alright." He falls silent as he notices the slight changes in his daughter.

"Is everything okay, Allie? You're not regretting coming back to work for House, are you?"

"No, I'm just awaiting the day that my fellowship ends and I can leave Diagnostics and not have a chance of being brought back."

"Do you really hate it that much, Allie?"

"No, Dad, I love it here…it's just that the time comes where you eventually have to move on, and when you're working for Greg House…well, that _really_ makes you wish that Fellowship contracts were for less than three years. I am glad that he brought me back, though…my record of not quitting is kept spotless."

"Davenport's are no quitter's, right, Skates?"

"Darn straight, Mikey." Cameron answers her brother with a wide grin.

"Speaking of…" The tone in her brother's voice gives away what he's about to say. "Why are you still going by 'Cameron'?"

"I swore my life to Zachary, and that included his name. Should I get remarried, I'll take on my new husband's name, but until then…I'll always be a Davenport in heart, but in name, I'm Cameron."

"Yeah, also speaking of…you're not going to become Allison Chase, are you?"

"You know the line: If you love 'em, leave 'em?"

"Yeah."

"If I ever did fall in love with him, I'd definitely leave him so that he'd have the potential to have kids. Let's face it, if I became Allison Chase, Amelia would see to it that the family name ended with him."

Michael (junior) snorts with laughter, while their father stares at them dumbly. Eventually he catches on.

"Amelia brought her paintball gun with her, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Cameron gets out through tears of laughter.

"She didn't shoot anyone important, did she?"

"Just Drs. Gilmore, Chase, Wilson and Cuddy."

"Gilmore and Chase we know - by the way…did I see a paint splatter on his groin when he went in to get the Prime Minister's history?"

"Yup."

"Okay, and Wilson and Cuddy?"

"Wilson is the Head of Oncology…Cuddy is the Head of this Hospital."

"Well, at least it wasn't anyone important."


	3. How's your family?

Black Sheep

Summary: Allison Cameron seems like a family's dream, but what if she's actually the black sheep in her family? Starts out CamChase, but will eventually become HouseCam.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be (Did I ever put a disclaimer on my 'family' series?)

* * *

Cameron enters House's office and bends to get something from a bottom drawer when a voice near the door surprises her.

"So, how's your family?" Cameron turns to find House sitting in the chair by the door.

"I'm sure I have no clue what you're talking about." Cameron resumes her kneeling position to retrieve the necessary file.

"Come on, don't pull the stupid card now…you proved to me long ago that you're smarter than you look - much smarter."

"Thank you. I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"Simple," House pulls a clipboard from its spot between his leg and the couch. "There aren't any Cameron's on the list of agents that will be here, but there are ten Davenport's. I overheard the woman you referred to as your sister introducing herself as Special Agent Davenport. Which leads me to believe that you took your husband's name when you were married, and kept it when he died."

"What's your point, House?"

"No point, just wondering how your family is doing."

"They're doing fine. May I leave now." She gets up to leave, but finds her path blocked by House's cane.

"But she introduced herself as an NCIS agent…I thought you said that she was Secret Service."

"I have two younger sisters."

"I also met Emerson, Claire, and Jordan Davenport. Now, either your anti-aging cream is _really_ good, and theirs isn't, or they're older than you."

"You forgot Aiden, she's younger than me."

"Aiden Davenport," House reads from the list. "Says here that she's FBI." House looks at his subordinate questionly.

"Amelia transferred agencies then. Last time I spoke with my family, she was Secret Service."

"Still doesn't explain why she shot Chase in the groin."

"Obviously she doesn't like him."

"Then we'll get along great."

"She's engaged, keep your hands off my baby sister."

"Protective much?"

"We all are of each other. Though Mia can definitely take care of herself."

"Why do you say that?"

"Whether it's paint or metal…Mia doesn't miss."

House returns his attention to the list in his hands. "Well, that takes care of five of these Davenport's…who are the others? Michael?"

"Which one?"

"Either." House looks at her expectantly.

"Father and older brother." Cameron resigns herself to answering House's questions.

"Magen?"

"Sister-in-law."

"Melissa?"

"Mother."

"You have ten government agents in the family?" House appears shocked. "How did you get away with going to medical school?"

"Simple, my family always supported us doing whatever we wanted to. And that's just my immediate family. You can trace my family tree through the Secret Service back to before it was called the Secret Service."

"So _every_ member of your family wears a badge and carries a gun, except you."

"Who says I don't carry a gun?" Cameron takes advantage of House's shock to push her way past him, smiling coyly at him on her way.

Cameron enters the hallway, and promptly runs into two women. She looks up to apologize, and stops upon seeing Amelia and another of her sisters. Both have their interrogation stances and faces.

"Good morning Aiden, Amelia. How are you two doing today?"

"Very well, yourself?" Aiden replies. Cameron looks up and thinks before replying. Looking between her sisters, she realizes how thankful she is that it's impossible to tell the three of them are related. Even in looks, they are as different as can be.

Amelia has brown hair so dark you'd think it was black pulled back into a tight bun, the same style she's worn since she picked up a gun for the first time. 'I can't have any distractions when I've got a firearm in my hands.' was what she'd always said. She's got the personality to match her hairstyle. She's very no nonsense, to the point where you'd wonder if she even knew the meaning of the word fun. On the job, she always wears a dark suit and white blouse - an outfit Allison always claimed screamed AGENT.

Aiden managed to receive all the stereotypical Irish looks. Fiery red hair - with the personality to match - and skin so pale it burns after five minutes in the sun with anything less than SPF 100. On the job, she wears outfits similar to her younger sister, though off the job, the colors come out, and she always tries to incorporate some color into her work outfit - usually in the necklaces that always have some colorful stone on a pendant. Though her hair can always count as her color, she rarely pulls it back, claiming that the color can distract anyone from recognizing whomever she and her team are protecting.

The eyes are always what reveal them as siblings, all three have green eyes from their mother - though in various shades of intensity. Allison's are definitely the softest, more gray than green, depending on what she's wearing. Amelia's are more of a muddy green, that seemingly go brown whenever she's upset or in protection mode. Aiden's are as bright green as her hair is red, and her family claims that they actually twinkle whenever she's trying not to break out in laughter.

Before Allison's thoughts can continue, a hand is waved in front of her face. She breaks out of her trance and returns her attention to her sisters. Amelia's eyes are dark with concern.

"Are you okay, Allie?"

"Fine, I just spaced out for a moment." Cameron moves past them and heads to the lab, causing her sisters to follow. "How is everything going with you two?"

"Fine. Though we about had a heart attack when we found out that you left Diagnostics and chose to return."

"It's where I belong for the moment. Though speaking of leaving…when did you transfer to NCIS, Mia?"

"It's only temporary. They needed a Middle Eastern Affairs expert, so they called me."

"I find it hard to believe that NCIS is lacking in MEA experts during the current crisis's."

"Apparently they are…or they wanted a sharpshooter for a body guard. I'll be back to the First Family once the Prime Minister returns home."

"Good to know." The sisters reach the lab and Cameron sees Gilmore standing by watching a lab tech run some tests. "Crap, I gotta take care of this, I'll see you two later." Cameron's sisters watch as she enters the lab and begins yelling at Gilmore, causing the younger doctor to shrink back uncomfortably.

"I guess she finally grew a backbone." Amelia comments to Aiden, walking down the hall toward the lounge the agents have taken over.

In the lab

"Are you crazy, Gilmore?! You know that House hates it when lab techs do tests on our patients - no offense -" she comments to the tech before returning her attention to her new fellow. "Just get out of here, go to the clinic for awhile, I'll finish the tests. Pray to whatever God that you believe in that House doesn't find out what you did and fire you for it."

"He wouldn't do that. My job is to diagnose and treat, it's the nurses' job to draw blood and the tech's job to test the blood."

"So turn in the white coat and become a nurse, because their job is all that you've done so far. If _anything_ happens to the Prime Minister and House finds out that you didn't run the labs, he'll have your head and feed the rest of you to the sharks. Now get out of here while I clean up your mess." Cameron retrieves the vials and slides from the tech, relieved to find that he had only prepared the slide for the first test, and hadn't started on the rest of them. When she sees Gilmore walk by toward the elevators, she allows herself to breathe.

"Sorry about that. Not that I think you can't do your job-"

"It's okay Dr. Cameron." The young man replies easily. "I know how Dr. House is. I was a bit surprised when Dr. Gilmore came in and told me to run the tests."

"Has she been doing that a lot?" Cameron questions.

"Yes, ma'am. I don't think I've ever seen Dr. Gilmore run a lab, but she always stays here glued to the hip of whatever tech is running her labs."

"Thank you. Sorry again."

"That's okay. Do you need any help with these?"

"I think I'll be alright. I know you have a lot of other labs to do, why don't you go ahead and get to them."

"Thank you, Dr. Cameron." The tech heads off to another portion of the lab to do his work while Cameron continues on with the tests for her department.

* * *

I think we're gonna see a fun side of Cameron next, and Chameron will be no more if not in the next chapter than the one after that. School is getting kind of intense, and I've got a few tests and projects coming up, so it might be awhile before I post again. Please don't forget about me though.


	4. Claire

Black Sheep

Summary: Allison Cameron seems like a family's dream, but what if she's actually the black sheep in her family? Starts out CamChase, but will eventually become HouseCam.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be (Did I ever put a disclaimer on my 'family' series?)

AN: To save me the trouble of coming up with more name, I'm just going to use the characters from NCIS for this fic, so add to the disclaimer the fact that I don't own, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, or any of the other NCIS characters.

Sorry for the delay in this chapter, school has been _**crazy**_, so I've been super busy. And when I did write, I wrote a little one shot for _Bones_, called 'Mama Bones' Check it out if you so desire, it's my first one for that show, and I wrote it in about an hour.

* * *

"Knock, knock." Cameron turns slightly to find one of her older sisters standing at the door to the lab. 

"Hey, Claire. How're you doing?" Cameron returns her attention to the machine in front of her to continue the tests. Claire moves a lab stool over to sit beside her sister, waiting until she finishes her current test before speaking again.

"So, how badly did Amelia scare Dr. Chase this morning? Has he broken it off yet?"

Cameron shifts her gaze to her sister momentarily, grinning slightly. She draws out her response while studying her sister, noting the changes in her appearance since she last saw her.

Claire had always been the weird one in the family. Their parents had always claimed that she was 'born 40', but when the opportunity presented itself, she was a five-year-old trapped in a 37-year-old's body. She was the sole child in the family that inherited their maternal grandmother's blue eyes, which on her are china blue, though like her sister, she has the same auburn hair color. She was on the First Family detail to watch the President's daughter, and thus got to go casual in dress, since the daughter was attending college, and she still wore the jeans, Georgetown t-shirt and leather jacket that she wears on the job. _She could probably pass for a college student herself._ Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and her badge was newly situated on a chain around her neck.

Knowing that the only thing on Claire's mind is interrogating her about Chase and their relationship, Cameron responds to her sister's questions.

"Not yet." She returns to preparing the slide for the next test.

"But you think that he will?" Cameron pauses slightly and returns to her work.

"No, but I know I will."

"You're still hung up on House? I gotta agree with you, for an older guy, he is kinda hot."

"You know, I _really_ hope that you and House never choose to use your powers of perception for evil."

"So that would be a yes. I swear, Allie, you and House make Michael and Magen's soap opera drama look like nothing."

"Thank, Claire. What can I say? I believe that there is one person out there for everyone and until you're with that person, the whole world conspires against you."

"So David died because he wasn't the one for you, and the Fates threw Joe your way at that time to mock you. They then proceed to keep you single so that you'd be sex-starved by the time you finally spent any real time with another man - thus making him appear über desirable. Didn't you say that Dr. Chase was the man that escorted you to the Diagnostic's Department the day of you interview?"

"I thought Mom was the shrink in the family?"

"That doesn't mean I don't know anything about Psychology."

"Right, after all you were a Psych major for all of – what? Two semesters?"

"I just want you to be happy, Skates. And Chase doesn't make you so."

"Thanks."

"You need to be with the one that you love, not love the one that you're with."

"And what if the one you love doesn't feel that way in return?"

"Then he's a moron that isn't worthy of your time. The rest of us don't really have jobs that are conducive to stable and lasting relationship. If you can't find happiness, then you might as well have joined the family business. Please, break it off with Chase. You'll be happier alone than you will be with someone you don't really love. Trust me on that."

Both sisters fall silent, remembering their own prior marriages - Allison's to physical death, and Claire's to emotional death and treason.

"Do you think-" Allison starts hesitantly, before continuing on, "If Daniel or you had chosen to fight for your marriage, that you'd still be together?"

"No." Claire states simply and without hesitation. "We were both career Secret Service, and we both wanted nothing but to be on First Family detail. Constant competition like that is not good for a relationship. Plus, when you factor in that your father-in-law is your direct superior..." Claire lets the statement trail off, leaving Cameron to finish it.

"He still expected you to give up your career, and Dad beat him to the conversation."

"He wanted to be the 'Super Agent' and he knew that he'd never achieve that title as long as I was on the job with him."

"So what? After he got rid of you, how would he get rid of Michael and Emerson?"

"Who knows? But once we figured out what he was doing and the divorce was finalized, Dad had him shipped off to Embassy duty in Russia."

"Ouch." Cameron and her sister share winces at the ex's misfortune. Before anymore comments can be made, Claire's pager goes off. Before leaving, she turns back to her sister.

"Think about what I said, Allie, and give me a call if you want to talk." Claire leaves her sister in such deep thought, Cameron doesn't even notice the machine beeping, signaling the end of the test.

* * *

"So your sister is officially mental." Chase comes up behind Cameron in the hallway while she's reviewing the test results. Cameron stops, causing Chase to run into her and resumes walking after glaring at him in annoyance for a bit. Eventually she resumes walking, but passes Diagnostics, pulling Chase along with her when he moves to enter the conference room. Cameron turns a corner and enters Coma Guy's room, standing to the side, waiting for Chase to follow her. Once he's in the room, she shuts the door and locks it. Turning she finds Chase standing on the opposite side of the bed, arms crossed. 

"I thought we agreed, no more at work."

"That's not why I brought you in here. I've come to a realization. We can't be together anymore." Cameron falls silent, waiting for his reaction. She doesn't have to wait long.

"I knew coming back here was going to be a mistake."

"Are you so insecure that you have to bring House into this conversation?"

"What makes you think that I was talking about House?"

"Because when we were first asked to return to finish out our fellowships, he was the only argument you brought up for not working here - that returning working here would be a mistake."

"Can you blame me for feeling that way? He was the reason why you returned here the first time that you left."

"Wrong. I returned because this was the best fellowship that I could ever hope to have gotten and I would be a fool not to return."

"So the date with House…what was that about?"

"I couldn't let him think that I could be swayed by a better parking spot or more money. And I had other reasons, but they shall remain my own. Come on, Chase, you had to have known that we weren't going anywhere. No offense, but you could never stand up to anyone in my family, and that's something that I need in a guy. I'm sorry."

"So am I." Chase uncrosses his arms and stalks out the door. He pauses at the door and turns as if he's going to say something. In the end, he decides against it and leaves, not saying anything.

Cameron allows him a few minutes to get ahead of her before exiting the room, making sure the door is shut behind her. She's so distracted that she doesn't notice the set of blue eyes watching her from down the hall.

* * *

"Hey, Mikey. I need to talk to you." Claire enters the room they've set up as an office and approaches her brother. The other agents head out to give them some space. Michael looks up from the files he was studying and closes them when he sees the intense look in his sister's eyes. 

"What's up?"

"I need you to clear a few hours in the schedule on Saturday when all of the Davenports are not on duty."

"Why?"

"And we have the emergency path cleared, right?"

"Yes, we've got an emergency escape cleared. Why?"

"Trust me, clear the schedule. Just for a few hours – three tops. Can you do that?"

"Of course, why?"

"Can't say just yet. Just clear the schedule, I've got a few other people to talk to." Claire exits the room with a purpose, ignoring her brother's protests that she return and explain the situation to him.

* * *

Claire exits the elevator at the diagnostics floor and runs smack into the chest of a doctor waiting to board. 

"Sorry." She looks up at the doctor's face and grins apologetically.

"No problem. In a hurry?"

"Yeah, seen any agents around?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"No. Sorry to bother you, Dr…"

"Wilson. And that's alright. I hope you find who you're looking for."

"Thanks." Claire runs off, missing the smile that Wilson throws after her before he boards the elevator.

Claire looks around and sees the sister that she's looking for deep in conversation with another agent. Running up, she reaches them just as the other agent walks off.

"We need to talk."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Amelia questions with a fake hurt expression.

"Yes. Did you bring any other brushes with you?"

Amelia looks at her older sister questioningly before understanding dawns on her face. "Of course. Why?"

"I got Mikey to clear a few hours for all of us on Saturday. Time to experience a little culture. And we're going to be testing the emergency escape path."

"Want me to let the others know?"

"Please do, but keep it from Allie."

"Deal." The two sisters part ways, one to finish her weekend plans, and the other to spread the word of said plans.

* * *

"Are you alright, Dr. Cameron?" Gilmore questions her colleague as she enters the conference room. 

"I've had better days, now please leave me alone before I get really pissed with you and reveal your lab activities to House." Wisely, Gilmore retreats to the otherside of the table flipping through a medical book. Cameron goes to write the test results on the board but is stopped by a noise coming from her pager. She reads the message and immediately leaves the room, leaving Gilmore sitting confused.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Cameron enters the Prime Minister's room and finds Amelia and three other agents in the room - one being the one that initially checked their IDs. 

"He says he can't feel his arms," Amelia is standing over him trying to keep him from struggling too much. Cameron goes to the foot of the bed and pulls back the covers. Retrieving a pen, she grabs ahold of his left foot.

"What are you doing with his feet? He says he can't feel his arms?" One of the agents speaks up.

Cameron pokes him in the arch of his foot and is rewarded by his twitching away in pain. She repeats the process to his right foot, receving the same results. She covers his feet back up and moves to his arms, examining them, noting that they're swelling slightly.

"Just relax," Amelia translates what Cameron is saying. "We'll figure out what's wrong with you." She beckons to her sister once she's finished making some notes in the chart for her to join her in the hallway. She's followed by two of the other agents.

Once in the hallway, she faces the two others silently questioning their presence. One immediately speaks up, the woman they met earlier

"He's my father, if you have something to say, say it to me also." Cameron turns to the other, waiting for his explanation.

"Gibbs." He introduced himself, "This is my team, and my investigation - at least from the NCIS view. I need to know what's going on."

"He doesn't have a spinal cord injury, so that's not the cause of his paralysis-"

"How can you tell?" The woman questions.

"Because he has nerve responses in his feet. If he were suffering from a spinal injury, he wouldn't feel anything below his arms and he'd be on a ventilator. Does he have any allergies that you know of, Agent David?"

"No, none that I know of."

"Don't worry, we'll figure out what's wrong with him." Cameron turns a returns to the office, running into House on the way.

"We've got two new symptoms." She pulls the door open for him allowing him in ahead of her.

"Good, where's the Wombat?"

"Here," Chase enters in a hurry. "What's wrong?"

"Where were you?"

"Talking to Cuddy. What's wrong?"

"We've got two new symptoms." Cameron speaks up. "He's got swelling and paralysis in his arms. Responses are fine in his feet."

"Okay, so what causes pain, light-headedness, swelling of the extremities, paralysis and feignting spells."

"Toxins," Gilmore speaks up. "But we've run three tox screens, and they all came back negative."

"Including the most recent one," Cameron holds said report up for House to see.

"Very well, as long as he's stable, there's nothing left to do. Cameron, can I see you in my office. Chase, Gilmore, I can hear the clinic calling your names." House exits the conference room and takes a seat at his desk, waiting for Cameron to take a seat across from him.

"I heard two of your sisters talking about abducting you for a little 'culture' tomorrow. What would that be about?"

"Culture?" Cameron looks confused. "I have no idea. Unless..." A speculative look graces Cameron features before she smiles softly. "Don't worry about it, but if you get a call tomorrow saying that I've been abducted, don't take any stock in it." Cameron gets up to leave.

"That's it?" House's voice stops her.

"That's it. Let's just say that my family has some really twisted traditions, okay?"

Cameron leaves House thinking about that comment.

* * *

Why is Cameron going to be 'abducted' by her family? What kind of 'culture' will they be experiencing? I'll get it up as soon as I can, don't forget about me 


	5. Solving the mystery

Who here watches NCIS? You know how Abby gets when she's really excited? She tends to babble...I tried to imitate that.

Sorry it took me so long to get this up, school has been crazy, and this chapter required some research, and my brother's wedding was last weekend, **_and_** my fiance made it back from Iraq just in time to go with me. So the past few weeks - expcially this past week - have been beyond crazy, but I hope that this makes up for it.

And, never fear, just because the Prime Minister was diagnosed, does not mean that the story is over. I still need to get House and Cameron together...I just need to figure out how I'm going to do it.

Now, I'm off to take an Anatomy exam.

* * *

The following Saturday afternoon, House hobbles into the conference room and glares at his newest fellow doing research.

"Sorry you had to pull the short straw." He replies with sarcasm before pouring himself a cup of coffee, and promptly spitting it back out. "You are no longer allowed to make coffee." He pours it out and settles for mixing up a cup of instant coffee before turning back to his duckling, who's staring at him with a terrified expression on her face. "What's the matter?"

"Dr. Cameron was supposed to be on call today. I came in early to finish some charts, and a few minutes after I arrived, several people with ski masks on came and took her away."

"Real funny Gilmore. Do you honestly expect me to believe that Cameron was abducted when this hospital is _crawling_ with agents?" He shakes his head in laughter and heads into his office, Gilmore following him.

"Why is everyone laughing at me when I say that?"

"Because it's ridiculous?" House sits down and pulls out his Gameboy.

"I've heard the stories, House. Even with the security at the time, someone managed to get into the hospital, shoot you and get away. What makes it so inconceivable that someone couldn't do that now?"

"Maybe because security at the time was pathetic. Now there are four dozen agents from various agencies patrolling the hallway. Did you tell any of them about the bad men taking Cameron?" House questions her as if she were a small child.

"Yes, and they laughed at me."

"Sounds like everyone had the same reaction. Maybe that ought to tell you something."

"What? That everyone here are imbeciles that wouldn't notice if a terrorist came in and abducted a doctor?"

"It's not like she's an Infectious Disease specialist or a Pathologist."

"No, but she is one of the Prime Minister's doctors. The Prime Minister that is currently up for reelection and is voting for the withdraw of US troops from the Middle East. If I were a terrorist, I'd definitely want someone that could help me eliminate said Prime Minister."

"I'm sure she's fine. Besides, your word doesn't carry much weight, so we'll have to wait the appropriate time to declare her missing. Now scoot, go check on out patient." House waves his hand in a shooing gesture and returns to his game. Gilmore leaves his office in a huff, grabbing her lab coat on her way out the conference room.

* * *

"Prime Minister just had to be intubated." Foreman announces as he enters the room, "And his vitals are dropping," Foreman writes the new stats on the white board and turns to face the team. Gilmore is flipping through a medical text and Chase just hung up the phone. House enters the conference room as he heard Foreman's statement. 

"Great. Proof that he's not long for this world. Who were you just talking to, Chase?"

"I was paging Cameron." Chase smoothly responds, not making eye contact.

"Right, like her kidnappers will allow her to respond to a page." Gilmore mumbles sarcastically. The three men roll their eyes in exasperation.

"She'll be here when she can my little ducklings." House sits on the table, twirling his cane and studying the board. His musings are interrupted by the door to the hallway banging open. The team turns and sees Cameron standing there.

"Hey, guys. Sorry to leave you hanging. What's new with the case?" She stands at the table with her hands on her hips, staring at the team.

They all take in her appearance in disbelief. They've never seen her at work looking like anything less than a competent professional; yet she's currently standing in front of them in muddy combat boots and cargo pants and a sweaty long-sleeved shirt with several colorful splotchy stains adorning it. One such stain is obviously fresh, while the others appear much older. Topping off the picture: her hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail.

"What?" Cameron looks from one to the next, expecting one to say something. They're shook out of the silence by a whistle coming from the door. Aiden is leaning into the room as she tosses Cameron a bundle wrapped in a towel, which Cameron catches and quickly places on the table, turning back to her sister in time to catch two paintball guns that are tossed at her.

"I'll be by to pick them up after my shift." Aiden places two metal cases by the wall before leaving.

Cameron tucks the pistol under one arm while using her free hand to untie the bundle and spread the towel out on the table. She lays the pistol down on one corner before beginning to take apart the rifle-designed gun to clean it. During the entire process, she carries on with the DDX as if it were any other differential.

"So…what did I miss?" She unscrews the air tank and it gives a loud, sharp puff of air as the seal is temporarily broken. While the others flinch in surprise, House remains unfazed and answers her question.

"His breathing became so labored that he had to be sedated and intubated. The paralysis is descending."

"Many of his symptoms indicate toxin. Like that wife that was poisoning her husband with her arthritis medication?"

"Heavy metal poisoning." House writes it down. "All the usual and a few unusual. What else?"

"Michael said that the Prime Minister was fine the night and morning before he collapsed. Metal poisoning is slow, symptoms don't show up this fast."

"We're still going to test for it. What else?"

"Maybe one of his Secret Service agents did this to him." Cameron sharply pauses her motions at Chase's suggestion. House quickly leans back and grabs the pistol before Cameron can. Cameron eventually speaks up, her voice is low, slow, and cold.

"I'm going to give you 10 seconds to retract that statement, Dr. Chase."

"And if I don't? C'mon, we have to consider everything."

"Michael Davenport has more honor and integrity in his little finger than you do in your entire body – more than you could ever hope to possess. Plus, 8th generation Secret Service with 18 years in don't wake up one morning and decide to betray their country."

"How do you know so much about this family?" Cameron turns to Gilmore to answer her question.

"Because it's _MY_ family. Davenport is my maiden name. Chase, you just insulted the family whose current generation has over 200 combined years of dedicated service to this country. Not to mention that you just insulted my _family_."

"I'm not going to apologize for the suggestion. How many cases have we had where the responsible party has been one of the 'good' guys? One of the people closest to the patient?"

"Hundred bucks says that the protection detail is innocent." Cameron resumes cleaning her weapon with renewed vigor.

"You're on."

"Entertaining as this has been…we still need to figure out what is poisoning the Prime Minister." Foreman speaks up. "It's most likely a neurotoxin."

"Not necessarily. There's no pattern for a descending neurotoxin." Chase retaliates.

House observes Cameron as she puts her paintball gun back together and rotates her shoulders, reaching up to scratch one. A look of realization crosses her face and she bolts out the door. She returns seconds later and pokes her head in the door.

"Page Patrick McDowell. He's FBI." She disappears once again.

"Do it." House orders and retreats to his office.

* * *

"I was paged to this office?" The team looks up to find a blond man standing in the doorway, holding up his pager with a questioning look on his face. 

"Patrick McDowell?" Foreman questions.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"We're not sure. Dr. Cameron told us to page you. Take a seat, hopefully she'll be back soon."

* * *

"MICHAEL!!" The entire hallway freezes as Cameron shouts down the hall to get her brother's attention. He halts what he's doing and turns in her direction. 

"What is it, Allison?"

"Did the Prime Minister ever change any item of clothing the day he collapsed?"

"I don't think so."

"Yes, sir. He did." The siblings turn to face the young agent standing off to the side. "Agent Daniel Meade, ma'am. The Prime Minister bumped into a wall that was freshly painted as we left the VA hospital. His robe was replaced just before we entered the van to travel to the conference."

"What do you need to know that for, Ali?"

"I need BOTH robes. Yesterday." Cameron turns and strides back down the hall toward Diagnostics. Just outside the Prime Minister's room, she's stopped by a young woman dressed in head to toe black with more than a few tattoos.

"Hi! You're one of Prime Minister David's doctors, right?" She doesn't allow Cameron to answer and babbles on without waiting for a response. "Abigail Scuitto, call me Abby. Gibbs pulled me in from DC because I'm one of his team members – well, not really, I'm assigned to all NCIS cases, but 99.9 percent of all my cases tend to be ones for his team, so I'm considered one of his team. Anyways, I'm a lab rat – like hard core – and I'm going crazy sitting around doing nothing. Please let me do something. It doesn't even have to be something for the Prime Minister's case. I just need to get my hands on some lab equipment before I go crazy. I will stop talking now so that you may speak." Abby stops waving her free hand around and patiently sips at the extra large soda she's holding.

Cameron just stares at her for a moment before pulling out her phone and dialing a number. "Hi, it's Allison. Can you meet me outside the Prime Minister's room? And bring Aiden. Thanks." Cameron hangs up and smiles patiently at Abby, who is bouncing in place, waiting for an answer. Minutes later, an older woman appears around the corner and heads straight for them. She looks to be in her late 50s – early 60s and she has the air of someone that you would not want to mess with about her. Following directly behind her is Aiden Davenport.

"What's going on, Allison?" The older of the two women questions before she even comes to a complete stop.

"Do you know this young woman?"

"Yes, Abby is one of our Forensic Scientists."

"Okay. Michael is having the Prime Minister's robes brought up, both sets that he was wearing today. Do you have a portable lab, or will you be able to use ours?" Cameron directs the question to Abby.

"Both, just show me where to set up."

"Okay, Aiden, keep an eye on her while she works. Be sure to pay special attention to the shoulder area of the robes."

"Anything in particular that I'm looking for?"

"I think someone might have tried to poison the Prime Minister. I need to talk to Patrick." Cameron turns and heads back down the hall to her original destination, leaving three women standing behind her.

Abby turns to the older women excitedly. "Does this mean I get to do something?"

"I think so, Abby." Aiden turns to find her brother, while Abby follows behind them enthusiastically.

* * *

"Patrick - deadly Middle Eastern reptiles. GO!" Cameron enters the conference room and addresses the FBI agent enjoying a cup of coffee. The man doesn't even flinch before starting his list. 

"Death Stalker Scorpion, Kurdistan Viper, Saw-Scaled Viper, Fat-Tailed Scorpion, Egyptian cobra, puff adder, Black desert cobra, Persian Horned viper, Fat-tailed scorpion, burrowing asp, European Fire Salamander-"

"How many of them have venom that can be harmful by a manner other than bite?"

"European Fire Salamander is the worst. Also known as Salamandra salamandra, The Fire Salamander has poison glands on its skin, so it's possible to handle it, so long as you wash your hands immediately afterwards. The Fire Salamander can be found in central and southern Europe as well as northern Africa and the Middle East. The Fire Salamanders enjoy heavily wooded areas in the wild where it is easy enough for them to find shelter and adequate moisture under fallen trees and rocks. The Fire Salamander attained its name from the legend of their ability to survive in fire."

"Very interesting, Dr. Cameron," House cuts in, "But what does all this have to do with the case?"

"How fast acting is the poison?"

"With humans – not long. Saw-scale viper takes days to be fatal. Viperid venoms produce symptoms such as pain, strong local swelling and necrosis, blood loss from cardiovascular damage complicated by coagulopathy, and disruption of the blood clotting system. Death is usually caused by collapse in blood pressure. This is in contrast to elapid venoms that generally contain neurotoxins that disable muscle contraction and cause paralysis. Death from elapid bites usually results from asphyxiation because the diaphragm can no longer contract. However, this rule does not always apply: some elapid bites include proteolytic symptoms typical of viperid bites, while some viperid bites produce neurotoxic symptoms. Due to the nature of proteolytic venom, a viperid bite is often a very painful experience."

"If the Prime Minister was exposed to one venom-"

"My money would be on the European Fire Salamander, or the Persian Horned Viper."

"How do we treat exposure?"

"Polyvalent antiserum is best for the European Fire Salamander. It's the best known treatment for the Persian Horned Viper also – although the only known treatments are the ones created by desert dwellers – and they aren't big on sharing their secrets with outsiders."

"Polyvalent antiserum?" Cameron double checks.

"Best known." Patrick confirms. Abby chooses this moment to burst in, Aiden is right behind her.

"He was poisoned!" Abby exclaims triumphantly. "And, yes, I realize how wrong it is of me to sound so excited about that, but that's what happened. Poison from a reptile was laced into the shoulders on the inside of his new robes. Molecular breakdown revealed it was the poison of a European Fire Salamander. Found not only in parts of Europe, but also northern Africa and the Middle East. Fairly common _and_ easy enough to obtain as a household pet, therefore easy enough to use." Abby bounces in place in excitement at solving the puzzle.

"Alright, Cameron, start him on the treatment. Let's get this hospital back."

"Not so fast." The team looks up to find Gibbs standing in the doorway. "You've figured out what made him sick, but we still have to figure out who tried to kill him, and we can't risk moving him until we've at least got an idea. So treat him, but for the foreseeable future, he stays where he is."

"I was afraid that you were going to say that." House grumbles before heading back into his office. Cameron leaves to start the treatment, while the others stand around staring dumbly at each other.

"So, am I done here?" Patrick looks around for an answer.


	6. Memories

So, it has been well over two months since I last posted and I am SOOO sorry, but things have been beyond crazy (if there's anyone out there attending school full time and working two jobs, you know what I mean). But here it is. Though there might be a few questions, here are some early answers: Zachary was Cameron's husband and childhood best friend; Cameron is her married name, which she never changed back when he died; Steven and Daniel are Zachary's older brothers, and Matthew is their father. This chapter will probably have a few more questions arise, but they will be answered in the next chapters, cause I didn't want this one to run on too much.

Thanks so much to sweetgreuy for all your help on this chapter, you were a lifesaver!

Enjoy!

* * *

"I want the names of EVERYONE in White House laundry." Cameron walks be the office that Gibbs and his team are occupying for the present moment of the investigation. Looking in, she only sees the Senior Agent with the two male agents earlier introduced – the sweet, younger, professional McGee, and the cocky, flirtatious DiNozzo. The question of where Abby was is answered as she passes the Pathology Lab and sees her running several machines simultaneously. Going to the Prime Minister's room, she enters silently when she notices his daughter sitting by the bed with her head bowed in prayer.

Silently, Cameron takes note of his vitals and checks the IV bag hanging on the stand. She replaces his chart and is about to slip out as quietly as she slipped in when she's stopped by his daughter.

"How is he?"

"He's holding on, which is good. Is there anyone that we can call for you? Perhaps your family?"

"No. My mother died when I was a child. My father and I haven't gotten along well since; and all communication stopped when my brother passed away."

"I'm sorry. What about friends?"

"They're all currently trying to find out who did this to him."

"Oh." Cameron stands there uneasily, trying to find an excuse to leave. "Well, if you need anything, let us know." She quietly slips out, leaving the pair alone. Sliding the door shut behind her, she turns to give a report to the nurses, but she stops abruptly when she sees the pair standing by the circular desk speaking.

oOoOoOo

House limps around the nurses' station, looking over his shoulder and doesn't see the woman that he's subsequently crashes into.

"So sorry." House glances forward and his voice catches in his throat when he looks into a pair of familiar green eyes. Taking in the entire face, he realizes that it's not who he thought it was. "Sorry," he repeats, "Are you alright?"

A smile shines in the woman's eyes and the smirk appears on her face with the teasing tone. "I'm a mother of seven, Dr. House; it takes a bit more than a grown man running into me to harm me."

"Aren't girls less rambunctious than boys?"

"You've obviously never met my girls."

"I've met one, I've worked with that one. Granted I have seen her be assertive, but not enough to warrant her being a difficult child."

"It's the quiet ones that you have to look out for. She might seem to be angelic, but Allison always was the one that we had to look out for."

"I second that." A blonde in her early forties walks up to the pair, signing off on a file and passing it off to an agent walking past.

oOoOoOo

Cameron grows worried as she sees her sister-in-law join in the conversation between her mother and boss. As much as she wants to move closer to hear what they're saying, she remains rooted to the spot.

oOoOoOo

"Magen Davenport." The blonde introduces herself to House.

House takes a moment to look her up and down while shaking her hand. He quickly takes in the short blonde with the bright blue eyes dressed casually in cargo pants and a blue button down; seeing the paint splatter on her backside, he chooses not to comment, merely returning the introduction.

"Greg House."

"Nice to meet you. And as mom was saying, Allison was the one that you always had to look out for."

"And you've known the family long?"

"I grew up next door to them."

"So a childhood sweetheart marriage. Don't you regret that?"

"Not at all. Michael and I were best friends growing up, we never dated. I went off to college at Stanford, he stayed home and went to Georgetown. We met up four years after graduation when we had both finished grad school and we were at Quantico for a joint service training exercise. We were both engaged to other people at the time, and it took us an additional three years to work things out and make it down the aisle with each other. The events of those three years are why you will often hear our relationship referred to as a soap opera.

"But as we were originally saying – Allison, she was always the idea woman and the ringleader behind all the escapades in the neighborhood. And when you've got a half dozen family with multiple children, school vacations can get interesting." She turns to her mother in remembrance. "Like the snowball fight that one July?"

"You had snow in July?" House asks incredulously.

"No, Allison saw an advertisement for Christmas in July in the middle of this torrential downpour we were having one summer – she was nine, I was home for summer vacation – and she believed that the mud was the summer's version of snow."

"It took the mom's almost an hour to hose all of the kids off." Melissa cuts in. "Allison could have been a lawyer with that golden tongue of hers. She could get anyone out of a bind, even when she was five years old. We could have proof of something she did right in front of us, and she'd still be able to convince us that it was the bully down the street's fault."

"Really?" House compares this new information with the immunologist he thought he had figured out. "So how did she choose medicine?"

The two Davenports share a look, silently deciding how much to share with him…finally Melissa answers.

"She might have become a good lawyer, but she'd wanted to be a doctor ever since she got one of those toy doctors' kits when she was four. And her resolve solidified when she was 12."

"What happened when she was 12?"

Melissa is prevented from answering when she hears her name coming over the walkie-talkie in her hand. She apologizes and heads down the hall. House turns to Magen, but she stops him when she puts her hand up to her ear and listens to what's said over her ear piece.

"Sorry, I'm needed in the office." She heads off down the same hall her mother-in-law took leaving House standing there.

oOoOoOo

Cameron sees the serious look cross over her mother and sister's faces and recognizes it immediately. She snags a passing agent and tells him to page her mother to the office. Once she's gone, and Cameron sees House turn to her sister, she takes the microphone from the agent and repeats the message. Once Magen is out of sight, Cameron turns and disappears down the hall before House can turn and notices her.

oOoOoOo

The lights are off in House's office when Cameron enters to retrieve her bag for dinner, so she doesn't pay much attention to the occupant sitting at the desk chair.

House watches Cameron enter the conference room and retrieve her purse from her desk, wondering what could have happened to Cameron when she was 12 to solidify her resolve to become a doctor, when it seemed she was destined for the law. House notes that there appears to be an extra weight on her shoulders, she doesn't seem quite as happy as she usually does after they've solved a case. He continues to watch her as she slowly dons her coat and leaves the office, leaving him in a more curious state than usual.

oOoOoOo

Cameron takes a seat at a booth in a restaurant down the street from the hospital and gives her drink order to the waiter right away, taking out and setting up her laptop while she's waiting. When he returns with her glass of wine, she orders her usual salad topped with chicken and sets to work once her waiter leaves. She's only able to concentrate for a few minutes before she pushes her work aside and pulls up a file on her computer. Quickly typing in the password, a series of photos pops up on her screen. She selects one and the screen immediately fills with the smiling faces of two children that look to be 11 or 12. Studying the photo, she quickly flashes back to that day.

oOoOoOo

"_C'mon, Allison! We need to get home before Danny does!" Twelve year old Zachary Cameron pulls his friend along through the trees of the woods separating their neighborhood from the local park._

_Allison stumbles slightly and falls to the ground, though she's up and moving again before Zachary can stop to help her to her feet._

"_What's the rush, Zachary? Your mom said his plane wasn't landing until four, and it's just that now." She pushes ahead of him and holds back a tree branch so that they won't get scraped passing through. Once they're both safely on the other side, they take off at a sprint towards his house._

"_But I want to be there to see him first. I heard Dad and Steven talking last night, they said that he'd been given the Navy Cross and a bunch of other medals for what he did. I want to see them."_

"_You know he's going to have your mom stop somewhere so that he can change out of his uniform. He's never liked wearing that any longer than he has to. It killed him to wear it for the entire day of his wedding."_

"_Maybe he'll still be wearing it." Zachary states stubbornly. Allison didn't say anything. She had the feeling that something bad was happening for the past few days. Things were much quieter among the adults and the older kids in the neighborhood ever since they'd found out that the second oldest Cameron was returning home. _

_Little did the younger kids know that this very moment was going to be their last innocent moment in time._

_Zachary reached the fence that bordered his family's backyard and reached over to undo the latch so that he and Allison could get in. The pair weaved through the trees on the border of their yard and ran up to the back door, removing their shoes and running inside. They stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a few of the cookies waiting on the cooling rack before running back to the living room. The pair heard voices coming from the den and tiptoed over to find out what was going on. They both recognized the voices of their fathers and older brothers. The men had no idea there were prying ears on the other side of the door and made no move to stay quiet. Had they known the pair was listening in, they definitely would have been more quiet – or completely silent._

"_Matthew, I'm not trying to tell you how to deal with your family business, but you need to tell the rest of your children what's going on. They shouldn't find out about this when they first see Daniel being wheeled up the ramp." Allison recognizes her father's voice._

"_I appreciate the advice, Michael, but this is my family. No amount of explanation will prepare them for this, so they might as well be shown this at once and get it over with."_

"_What about Zachary?" Allison and Zachary share a glance at hearing his name spoken by Allison's brother. "He's always idolized Danny. And Danny isn't going to want to even _think_ about what happened over there. Zachary is going to pester Danny to hear about what happened. He's going to see that Danny is injured and want to know what happened and how badly he's injured and if his actions when he was injured was how he received his medals and Danny isn't going to want to relive those moments because they're still too painful. What are you going to do then? Zachary's a curious soul, he's going to want to know what happened, and no matter how Danny reacts, he's going to continue to question him until he's satisfied."_

"_It's none of your concern, Mikey."_

"_It is, actually. This is my best friend that you're talking about here. He's not going to want to talk to anyone – not even the shrink he's been assigned – and you're acting like he's going to just bottle it up and forget about it. If he does that… well, you might as well start planning his funeral."_

"_You haven't said anything Steven, what do you think?" Matthew asks his oldest son._

"_Danny was the one to teach Zachary how to play baseball, he taught him how to ride a bike, and just before he left, Danny promised that when he returned home he'd teach Zach how to throw a spiral and kick a field goal. Daniel has always been larger than life, it always was part of his charm, and now he could potentially spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair."_

_Allison places her hand on her friend's shoulder to stop him from bursting into the room. He settles back down and continues listening._

"_It's a possibility, not a probability, Steven."_

"_Dad, I'm a physical therapist, I've seen this countless times. If Danny doesn't want to do his physical therapy, then he won't do it. And even if he does do it, going through the motions won't help him any. He has to really put the time and effort in order to get anything out of it. And I don't think that Danny will have the heart to put into it."_

_Allison grabs Zachary's arm and pulls him off to the stairs to go to his room. Once there, they shut the door and he collapses on his bed, Cameron sits quietly on his brother's bed._

"_Do you think what they said was true? Is Danny going to be different?"_

"_We've played war before, Zachary; for Danny, it's been real. People die for real where he's been. That's something he's been seeing for the past year. It's not something that he's just going to forget. And if he really is injured so badly that he might not walk again, then it's going to be even harder to forget. You just have to do what they said you wouldn't. Be patient, he'll open up eventually." Allison gets up and sits down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Zachary places his head on her shoulder and they sit there silently until they both hear a car drive up to the house._

oOoOoOo

Cameron is startled out of her memories by a plate being placed in front of her. It takes her a second to register that her dinner has just been placed in front of her and as an afterthought, she thanks her server, who has already moved on to another table. She slowly tucks into her salad, but after just one bite, she realizes that she's really not very hungry and summons her server over to request a carry-out box and her check. Once her salad is packed up and her check is paid, she packs up her laptop and the files that she'd brought out and leaves, returning to the hospital.

* * *

Oh yeah, I got a lot of complaints in the last chapter about how bitchy Cameron seemed and how idiotic I made Chase seem...That was not my intent. I wanted to show Cameron as the protective family member, and Chase as the one to state what House hadn't yet (didn't want to, since House was the only one who knew that her entire family was in the hospital for the case). I might not like Chase's character, but I don't write active characters as completee morons unless the original writers already have. 


	7. Truth

Hey, so this chapter is kind of short, but it definitely packs a punch. And I realized that Foreman suddenly appeared in one chapter with no explanation, so that's in here.

oOoOoOo

"Hey." Cameron returns to the Diagnostics office and finds Foreman standing in front of the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup. "Foreman, you're part of the Neurology Department now, and you left Diagnostics because you didn't want to turn into House…so why are you spending so much time down here with us?"

"A) your coffee is so much better, B) Neurology doesn't have any patients, except a post-op guy that just had a tumor removed from his optic nerve – nothing that we can do for him until surgery clears him, and C) my boss is a moron and the interns that I'm stuck with tonight can barely tell their brains from their butts." Finishing his rant, Foreman takes a large gulp of coffee – and promptly spits it out, dumping the cup into the sink. He turns to Cameron with a glare.

"Gilmore has been banned from coffee making duty, and I was just out to dinner; the pot was empty when I left."

"Chase was banned from coffee duty years ago."

Cameron walks over to the pot and takes a sniff. "Strong…House made it. Remnants of his days with his father…Marines have a thing for super-strong coffee."

"Right." Foreman proceeds to dump the pot and holds the stuff for a new pot out to his former colleague hopefully. Cameron rolls her eyes in annoyance, though still makes a fresh pot, giving Foreman the opportunity to observe the former colleague that he once considered to be a kid sister – fights and all.

"Are you okay, Cameron?"

"Yeah," Cameron turns to briefly smile at him before turning her attention back to the coffee. "It's just this case."

"Case is over, we figured out what kind of poison was used and the Prime Minister is responding to treatment. What more is there?"

"My father is the Head of Intelligence and Special Forces team at the FBI, my mother runs Sat Ops for NCIS, my brother is the head of the Prime Minister's Secret Service detail, and my sister's fiancé is an intelligence analyst for the FBI. Right there are four people that I hold dear in this world whose careers could be over if _any_ of this could have been prevented."

"And I'm sure having Chase of all people bring that to light didn't help any."

"I know that Michael wasn't involved in any of this."

"The whole 'eighth generation, 18 years in' thing?"

"Yeah. Michael has known since he was seven that he wanted to follow Dad and Grandpa into the Secret Service."

"I thought your Dad was FBI?"

"He is, but 25 years ago he was on the First Family Detail. He took a bullet in the thigh and couldn't recover fully, so he couldn't pass the necessary physical. Once he was cleared by medical, he switched agencies. Michael was 16 at the time, but despite the obvious dangers, he still wanted to follow him into first family duty."

"That's quite a history that your family has." Foreman holds out his mug for a cup of coffee and takes a seat at the table in his former seat.

"You have no idea. You can look up photos of every president from their Inaugural Balls, and you'll see a Davenport standing behind them, all the way back to Washington."

"Old money family?"

"Not that you'd ever know it. My great grandfather fell in love with an Irish immigrant that his father didn't approve of, so he chose the girl over the money. He was already in the Secret Service, and had a reputation, so his father's attempts to have him kicked out didn't work. He claimed to have realized the 'error of his ways' before he died, and left him in the will, but my great grandfather never cared much for the money. My family has always worked for everything that we've gotten. Most of us received scholarships – at least for our first degrees – and we've worked to pay off everything else. Including my medical degree and Claire's three graduate degrees. Can we keep all this between us?" Cameron stares at Foreman meaningfully.

"Of course." Foreman doesn't hesitate to comply with her request. "Your sister has _three_ degrees?!"

Cameron laughs at his blatant attempt to change the subject and lighten the mood.

"Yeah. She's always been on First Family detail with the First Sons and Daughters. Did you know that it costs more to audit courses than it does to actually attend classes? She sat through so many classes that she learned the material. One year, there was a Teacher's Assistant handling the class that didn't know she was Secret Service and he called on her to answer a question. She got it perfectly and decided to put all that knowledge to use. She's a licensed attorney, she's got her Master's in Political Science, and her PhD in Italian Literature, courtesy of three First Kids that she's protected."

"Wow, what did she study when she went through college originally?"

"Political Science and International Economics."

"Right." Foreman's pager goes off and after looking at the screen, he gets up to leave. "I'll see you later Cameron." Cameron nods in return and grabs all the backlogged case files when he leaves, hunkering down to complete them.

oOoOoOo

"Hey." Cameron looks up to see Chase standing in the doorway looking hesitant to come in.

"You can come in, Chase, I won't bite." Chase enters, relief immediately evident on his face. "But that doesn't mean that I've forgiven you." Chase falters, hesitating before taking off his coat and hanging it and his bag up.

"Hate me all that you want, but someone had to put the idea out there." Cameron looks up, the gleam in her eyes is more than enough to make Chase think twice about taking the seat next to her.

"Right, because the person to do the poisoning is always someone close to the poisoned. In that case, why don't you go investigate the Prime Minister's daughter? That's right, you don't want to seem insensitive about having to drag her away from her father's bedside. How about you? You were close by his side the whole time that he was here, why haven't you recused yourself from this case? Or how about my mom? Or my dad? Do you want to go about accusing all of them also? Please, don't stop at just accusing my brother." By now Cameron has gotten to her feet and is standing toe to toe with Chase, who has slowly backed himself up against the wall, and is wishing that he could be anywhere but where he is. "If you're mad at me for breaking things off, just say so, DON'T go accusing my family of treason."

They're broken apart by the sound of a throat clearing behind them. Cameron glances to the door, but still takes her time in stepping away. Chase takes a moment to take in the woman with the raven-colored hair and the sea-green eyes standing before them before he unnecessarily straightens his tie and turns to pour himself a cup of coffee. Cameron turns to the woman with a bright smile on her face.

"What's up, Emmy?"

"Um," Emerson Davenport looks between the two doctors in confusion before turning her attention to her sister. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be out of your hair in as soon as the Prime Minister is cleared for discharge."

"Oh, you found out who poisoned him?" Chase turns to the pair in interest, waiting for the answer.

"Yeah, there was a sleeper cell on the White House staff. Five total, and one was in White House laundry."

"So the family had nothing to do with this?" Cameron directs her question to her sister, while her attention is on Chase, who has turned away in embarrassment.

"No, nothing at all. Someone from NCIS will be by later to talk to someone from this office before they return to DC. They'll need some info for their report."

"Okay." Cameron smiles in reassurance at her sister before she turns and leaves. Once the door has shut behind her, Cameron says nothing, just holds out her hand, waiting for Chase to swallow his pride and give her the money from the bet. Once she's taken her seat, she turns back to Chase.

"One more thing, Chase…be thankful that we're not together, because when my family hears about what you said about them, well, let's just say that it won't be pretty. You never get between the Davenports – especially the siblings." She fixes him with a stony glare before returning to her paperwork.

oOoOoOo

Cameron wipes clean the white board before placing the markers and eraser on the ledge at the bottom. Going to her desk, she picks up a stack of folders and enters House's office, placing them on the corner. She notices that the computer is still on, and goes to turn it off. However, once the screen comes to life, she's stopped by what's on the screen. A voice finally comes from the direction of the couch.

"I learned some interesting things today." Cameron turns on the desk lamp and notices her boss sitting on the couch.

"What are you still doing here, it's almost nine pm."

"I was waiting for you." House holds up his gameboy. "I finally defeated the evil warlord and rescued the princess."

"Good for you." Cameron smiles slightly, then nods toward the computer screen. "Why are you researching my family?"

"When you were six years old, your father was shot protecting President Reagan-"

"Hardly. Reagan took a trip to Quantico, a Marine was stupid and flagged the line while he was on the rifle range. My father was the lucky agent to take a bullet in the thigh. How do you know about that? This article is about Michael's instatement into the Secret Service."

"The young Marine's Company Commander was my father. I was visiting my parents at the time because I had just finished my second year of medical school and I knew it would be a long while before I'd see them again. A) because I didn't want to see him, and I used med school as an excuse, and B) he was being shipped to Europe and I used that transfer as an excuse."

"Wow, you finding excuses not to see your parents, there's a shocker." Cameron takes a seat at House's desk, and faces him with a smile on her face.

"Anyways, that incident was all that my father spoke of for the entire night. He even dragged me to the hospital with him after dinner the next night so he could apologize for that marine that shot him."

"And that's so fascinating because…?"

"Six years later, my father visited me at the hospital I was a resident at. One of the Marines in his combat unit took a bullet for him; I wasn't an orthopedist, or a neurologist, but he wanted me to take a look at the guy. I did it more for the guy's best friend – he pleaded with me to take a look at him, he said that the only connection he had with me was that my father was his friend's boss, but he hoped it wouldn't influence my decision, because his buddy's younger brother worshiped him, and he wanted some good news to tell him. I took a couple vacation days, and saw the guy."

Cameron is silent, not having any idea where this story is going, but not saying anything incase it's one of those where her iron-hearted boss is about to reveal something about himself.

"There was this kid with blonde hair sitting outside his room – I didn't really pay him much attention. When I walked into the guy's room, I bumped into a girl on her way out – I'll get back to her later – and went straight to the guy's chart and films. There wasn't anything that I could do, the guy was paralyzed for life. His family just wanted some potential good news to tell him, because he'd tried to kill himself when he found out he'd never walk again." House looks up and meets Cameron's gaze. Her eyes have a closed off expression, she's recognized the story.

"I saw the girl on my way out again, she was consoling the kid sitting outside. For just a second, our eyes connected – cheesy as it may sound – and I left before she could say anything. I never even knew the guy's name. But I found out something else recently…

"Did my visit to your future brother-in-law's room have anything to do with you becoming a doctor? Did I influence you, Cameron?"

oOoOoOo

Now I have a question for everyone: Should I bring Colonel and Mrs House into the story???? I have a tentative story line for them, but I'm not sure if I should use it in this story, or stop this story in the next chapter or two, or stop in the next couple of chapters and do a sequel that goes into a bit more depth. Let me know what you all think, Please.


	8. FINALLY

Okay, so I've gotten a few requests as to whether or not I was going to continue this story, and the now obvious answer: yes. How I ended chapter 7 was not even close to how I had planned on the story going, so it took me a while to figure out how it was going to continue. Plus spring semester was a bitch. I took sixteen hours in the spring, and 10 hours in the summer, which is NOT an easy thing to do. But here's the next chapter, though no guarantees to when the next one will be up. Just in case...this is a good ending point, but it probably won't be the last.

oOoOoOo

"You can reign in that ego of yours, House. I heard what you said to Danny that day." Cameron crosses her arms across her chest in her 'clenching' pose. "I used to think that you became the way that you are because of your leg and because of what Stacy did to you, but you've always been like this. Cold-hearted, misanthropic, bastard – you've always been that way. I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but you influenced me to become the kind of doctor that you weren't. One that actually cared for people."

House is silent, waiting for her to unclench – knowing that it will be awhile – and makes himself comfortable. After more than a few minutes, House finally speaks up.

"It wasn't that I didn't care, it's just that my father asked me to help him. My personality hasn't changed - though my infarction definitely made it worse – and you can thank my father for that." After revealing something that he only revealed to Eve, he gets up, leaving Cameron alone in his office in her shock.

oOoOoOo

Over an hour later, she finds House standing on the roof. Silently she approaches and leans against the ledge, staring back at the building, allowing himself the moment to compose himself and acknowledge her presence.

"One thing I learned with so much access to the military: members tend to become more bitter, abusive and cold as they stay in longer, especially if they hold a combat MOS. Eventually all those years of combat get to a person. And if the people back home don't accommodate to them, then it's all the worse for them. Combat veterans tend to go one of two ways when they get home: either they become abusive or reclusive. Somehow I don't see your father as being the type to withdraw into himself."

"I was eight when he returned from his first tour as a father. When he and my mother got married, he transferred to a desk job, but one day his CO recognized that if he stayed in the office then he'd go crazy. I guess he didn't realize that he'd also go crazy if he went back to combat either."

"You seem to have turned out alright though."

"Odd form of compliment, Dr. Cameron." House turns to her with a wry smile on his face.

"Come on – I've seen kids of abusive military parents turn out a lot worse than you." Cameron bumps his shoulder with hers playfully, eliciting a tiny smile from him before she turns and joins him, staring out over the Princeton skyline.

oOoOoOo

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go any farther." John House looks down at the hand placed on his chest, holding him back from entering the hospital. Following the arm to the face attached to it, he fixes his disapproving glare at the young man blocking his path. The agent is only just able to contain his fear.

"Why not?" John is barely able to contain his anger, only stopping at his wife's hand on his elbow.

"I'm sorry, sir, but current security prohibits any unauthorized persons from entering the facility. If you would give me your name and state your purpose for being here, I can see about getting you clearance to enter." The young man stands poised with a pen, ready to take down his information. As soon as his mouth opens to give his name, it's heard from the side.

"Colonel House?" They turn and see Michael, Sr. approaching them with an outstretched hand. "It's good to see you again. What brings you to Princeton?"

"Blythe and I were passing through, we decided to stop and see Greg – our son. What's going on?" He uses his hand to refer to the heighted security.

"Eh, case that we brought. Your son is still the best, and we couldn't afford anything less." He reaches for two of the days bracelets and secures them around the House's wrists. "Follow me. Technically the case is over, but we need to keep the security as long as we're here. It's good to see you again, Blythe." The senior Davenport greets Blythe with equal warmth he gave her husband.

"You also. How much of the family is here?"

"All of it. Including Allison, given that we came here. In fact, here's some of it now." The trio stops in front of Michael, Jr., Magen, Claire, and Jordan – the sister that managed to miss most the excitement of the case, but still sports the paint-splattered clothes of their earlier excursion. The siblings quiet down as their father approaches.

"Dr. Cuddy wants to know when we'll be out of the hospital." Michael is the first to speak up.

"As soon as NCIS gives us the clear." Michael, Sr. turns to introduce the Houses. "Do you four remember Colonel House? We met back when I was still Secret Service."

"Vaguely." Michael speaks, but extends his hand regardless. "Michael Davenport. Any relation to Greg House?" He doesn't get an answer as Cameron approaches from the side.

"Mr. and Mrs. House, it's good to see you again. House didn't mention that you were in town."

"Well, given how much he avoided us last time that we were in town, we thought it best that he didn't know that we were in town this time." Blythe answers for her and her husband, smiling at the young doctor.

"Right. I do remember that week. Though it was fun to trick House into that dinner." She finally notices her family standing around, and turns to her brother. "Right. Prime Minister David is clear for discharge, so you can return the hospital to Dr. Cuddy tomorrow. We just want to keep him for one more night."

"NCIS is aware of this?"

"Yup." She turns to her boss's parents. "You actually just missed House. He left a few minutes ago mumbling something about drinking with Wilson. And if it's alright, I'm joining the masses in leaving. I haven't had a full night sleep in about a week." She stretches up to give her father a kiss before waving to the rest of the family and leaving, checking out with security on her way.

oOoOoOo

Cameron knocks on her boss's front door, waiting a moment before reaching up and retrieving the spare key. She knows he's there, because she heard piano music just before knocking. After a few minutes of waiting, she reaches up to the door frame, feeling for the key. Granting herself entrance, she quietly shuts the door behind her, just barely controlling her fright when she hears House's voice behind her.

"Breaking and entering is a crime you know."

"It's not breaking in if you've got a key." Cameron places said key on the table by the door before taking a seat on the couch, watching her boss contemplate what to play next.

"What are you doing here?"

"Warning you. Your parents are in town."

"Figures. It's time for their annual vacation. They always try to schedule a layover in Princeton. When did you see them?"

"They entered the hospital as I was leaving. Fortunately for you, they ran into my parents, and I told them that you were planning on going drinking with Wilson, so I think they're otherwise occupied for the evening."

"Thank you."

"Welcome." Cameron rises to her feet and takes a seat on the piano bench next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." House meets her gaze before elaborating. "For what I said to Danny? I'm sorry."

Cameron smiles softly, placing her fingers on the keys and playing out a soft melody. "It's okay. If you hadn't said what you said, I might have decided against medicine and gone to law school. Then where would you be today?"

"I thought your resolve was solidified when you were four and got a toy doctor's kit for Christmas."

"That was when I first decided. My resolve was solidified when you were an ass to Danny. But I had difficulties with organic chem., so if you hadn't been such an ass, then I might not have buckled down and gotten through O-Chem."

"Glad that I could be of assistance then." House looked down and met Cameron's gaze. Slowly 

he lowered his head until his lips were softly grazing hers.

Once she allowed the shock to wear off, Cameron softly returned the kiss. They part and smile at each other before returning to the tune Cameron was playing. House pays attention for a moment before adding his own melody to hers.

Where hers is a soft, slow melody, his is hard, and more intense, though still in tempo with hers. After a few minutes they allow the music to come to an end.

Cameron rises, offering him her hand, and together they take a seat on the couch. House allows her to make herself comfortable against him before turning on the TV, leaving it on the medical mysteries show that was playing, though neither are paying much attention.

"Where is Danny these days?"

"Ironically, he works for the VA, counseling returning injured vets."

"So he basically tells them not to do what he did?"

"More or less. I'm sure he's a bit more sensitive about it than you were though."

"Surely."

"What about the rest of the family? Where are they?"

"Steven is the oldest, he's a physical therapist; then there's Danny, then Magen –"

"Michael's wife?"

"Yup, then there was Zachary; and finally there's Patrick, he's an athletic trainer for the Giants."

"Nice. So they're the medical family – with one exception, and you're the law enforcement family –"

"–With one exception. Yes. Complete with their parents, their mom is a scrub nurse, and their father is an orthopedic surgeon – which is how they met."

"Lots of couples meeting at work. Are we going to join those ranks?"

"Are you calling us a couple?"

oOoOoOo

And there it is...the next chapter. What does everyone want to see next, cause I am drawing a blank on this story now. Anyways, read, enjoy, tell me what you think. And thanks to sweetgreuy, you've been a life saver during this entire chapter!


	9. Six months

Okay, folks… I've had people asking in replies to reviews _I've_ written when I'm going to update this story, so here it is. Just a warning: This is kind of an epilogue/summary of the sequel. I will tell everyone now: the sequel will not be up anytime soon. I've got four classes this semester, all requiring _massive_ papers, one of which is my senior thesis. So it's going to take a bit of time. I do apologize for the wait, this story went in a completely different direction from what I had originally planned, so that was a big factor in all the delays. Anyways, here it is, and if there is anything in particular that you'd like to see in the sequel, let me know and it will go in the compilation pile for the story.

* * *

Six months.

It had been six months since the week Prime Minister David was a patient at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

Six months since the Family Davenport invaded the hospital.

Six months since Greg House and Allison Cameron admitted their feelings and admitted to the possibility of a relationship.

Six months since Chase had left Diagnostics and taken up a post in the Surgical department.

* * *

Five months.

Despite Cameron's insistence that the relationship remain under wraps, it had been five months since their relationship was outed.

Outed thanks to Cuddy's attempts to keep the reins on House's clinic hours and her ill-timed visit to the clinic exam room to assure herself that Cameron really was called there for a patient consult and not just to make the hospital administrator think that he was in there with a patient.

Her screams were heard clear on the other side of the hospital upon the sight that greeted her in that exam room.

It had been five months since Chase left Princeton Plainsboro and transferred to Stanford University Hospital.

* * *

Four months.

It had been four months since the Davenport family invited House to one of their family paintball battles. He was given the task of sniper, and allowed the handicap to take up his post prior to the battle since he would be unable to maneuver his way once it had begun.

Four months had passed since House was welcomed into the Davenport family.

* * *

Three months.

Three months had passed since he asked Cameron to move in with him.

It had been three months since House had swallowed his pride and taken a trip to his parent's home.

The visit lasted less than three hours. Plenty of time.

* * *

Two months.

Two months had passed since the day House bribed the Dean of Princeton University to allow the Hospital to hold its annual fundraiser in the University Observatory.

And subsequently given Cuddy a near heart attack when she discovered what he'd done.

* * *

One month.

One month had passed since House had enlisted Wilson and Cuddy's help for the night of the fundraiser. Neither had wanted to help until House signed a blank check to be filled out to Cuddy's delight, should he conduct himself in a manner that would interfere with the integrity of the event.

It had been one month since Cameron fulfilled her fellowship contract with the Diagnostics department. She applied for the Assistant Department Head of Immunology, but was placed in the ER while Cuddy and the Board conducted the interviews for the position.

* * *

The time had come.

The decorations were perfect…

The evening was planned…

House was dressed and ready in minutes, and waited patiently in the living room, turning his attention away from the TV only when he heard the bedroom door open. And nearly forgot about all of his plans for the evening when he saw the vision in red standing in the doorway. She had grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door before he could even think of suggesting remaining at home.

While the party went on downstairs, House dragged Cameron up to the level with the telescope, having arranged for some time spent stargazing. While she was searching for no star grouping in particular, he lowered himself down on one knee, pulling out the ring he'd acquired from his mother two months prior.

Hearing no response from one of her comments, she turned…

…and looked down…

…and launched herself into his embrace, fusing their mouths together before he could even get the question out.

Thus their happily ever after began…


End file.
